Supply modulator and communication device including the same

ABSTRACT

A supply modulator includes: a voltage generator including output terminals respectively outputting voltages having different levels, and configured to select, in response to a selection control signal corresponding to an envelope signal, at least one of the voltages as a selection supply voltage and to generate the selection supply voltage by performing DC-DC conversion on a power supply voltage; and a switch unit configured to connect an output terminal through which the selection supply voltage is output to a power amplifier, in response to a connection control signal corresponding to the envelope signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/613,705 filedJun. 5, 2017, which claims priority from Korean Patent Application No.10-2016-0145209, filed Nov. 2, 2016, in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice. The disclosures of the above-named applications are incorporatedherein in their entireties by reference.

BACKGROUND

Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate toa supply modulator, and more particularly, to a supply modulatorgenerating a plurality of driving voltages having different levels and acommunication device including the supply modulator.

Wireless communication devices such as smartphones, tablets, andInternet of Things (IoT) devices use WCDMA (3G), LTE, and LTE Advanced(4G) technology for high speed communication. As communicationtechnology has been increasingly advancing, transmission or receptionsignals having a higher peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) and a greaterbandwidth are required. Thus, if a power supply of a power amplifier ofa transmission end is connected to a battery, the efficiency of thepower amplifier decreases. In order to increase the efficiency of apower amplifier having a high PAPR and a wide bandwidth, Average PowerTracking (APT) or Envelope Tracking (ET) is used. When using the ETtechnique, the efficiency and linearity of a power amplifier may beenhanced. A chip that supports the APT technique or ET technique isreferred to as a supply modulator (SM).

SUMMARY

One or more exemplary embodiments provide a supply modulator that has areduced circuit design area and uses less power during supplymodulation, and a communication device including the supply modulator.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided asupply modulator including: a voltage generator, which includes aplurality of output terminals configured to respectively output voltageshaving different levels, and is configured to select, in response to afirst selection control signal corresponding to a first envelope signal,at least one of the voltages as a first selection supply voltage andgenerate the first selection supply voltage by performing DC-DCconversion on a supply voltage input from a power supply; and a switchunit configured to connect an output terminal, of the plurality ofoutput terminals, through which the first selection supply voltage isoutput to a first power amplifier, in response to a connection controlsignal corresponding to the first envelope signal.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided acommunication device including: a modem configured to generate atransmission signal and an envelope signal corresponding to thetransmission signal; a radio frequency (RF) signal generator configuredto receive the transmission signal and generate an RF input signal basedon the transmission signal; a supply modulator including voltagegeneration circuits respectively generating voltages having differentlevels, and configured to select one of the voltage generation circuitsas a first selection voltage generation circuit based on the envelopesignal at a first supply voltage selection timing, and generate a supplyvoltage by using the first selection voltage circuit; and a poweramplifier configured to generate an RF output signal by amplifying theRF input signal based on the supply voltage.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided asupply modulator including: a voltage generator including: voltagegeneration circuits, each of the voltage generating circuits configuredto generate a supply voltage of a different level based on respectiveenvelope signals of received transmission signals, and output terminals,each of the output terminals connected to a respective voltagegenerating circuit to output the generated supply voltage; and a switchunit including switches, each of the switches configured to connect apower amplifier to a respective output terminal and provide, to thepower amplifier, a supply of the generated supply voltage from therespective voltage generating circuit in correspondence to therespective envelope signals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device accordingto an example embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a graph for explaining an operation of a supply modulator ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a graph for explaining an operation of a power amplifier ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a supply modulator according to an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a supply modulator according to anotherexample embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a Single Inductor Multiple Output(SIMO) converter included in a supply modulator according to an exampleembodiment;

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are graphs illustrating a supply modulationoperation of the supply modulator, according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a supply modulator for providinga selection supply voltage to power amplifiers, according to an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 9 is a graph illustrating a supply modulation operation of thesupply modulator, according to another example embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a supply modulator providing aselection supply voltage to a plurality of power amplifiers;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a supply modulator including aSIMO converter supporting a Dynamic Voltage Scaling (DVS) function;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a SIMO converter that supports a DVSfunction and is included in a supply modulator according to anotherexample embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a graph for explaining an operation of the SIMO converter;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a supply modulator that provides aselection supply voltage to power amplifiers and supports a DVSfunction, according to another example embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a graph illustrating a supply modulation operation of thesupply modulator, according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a supply modulator that provides aselection supply voltage to power amplifiers and supports a DVSfunction; and

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an IoT device according to anexample embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, the communication device 100 may include a modem110, a supply modulator 130, an RF block 150, e.g., an RF signalgenerator, and a power amplifier (PA) 170. The modem 110 may processbaseband signals transmitted or received by the communication device.The modem 110 may generate a digital signal, and generate, from thedigital signal, a digital transmission signal and a digital envelopesignal corresponding to the digital transmission signal. The digitalenvelope signal may be generated from an amplitude component of thedigital transmission signal. The modem 110 may perform digital-to-analogconversion on the digital transmission signal and the digital envelopesignal and provide a transmission signal TX and an envelope signal ENBto the RF block 150 and the supply modulator 130, respectively. However,the envelope signal ENB provided by the modem 110 to the supplymodulator 130 is not limited to analog signals, and may also be digitalsignals.

The supply modulator 130 may modulate a voltage level of a supplyvoltage Vcc to be provided to the PA 170, based on the envelope signalENB. The supply modulator 130 may include a supply modulation controller131, a voltage generator 133, and a switch unit 135. While the supplymodulation controller 131 is illustrated as being included in the supplymodulator 130, the example embodiments are not limited thereto; thesupply modulation controller 131 may be included in the modem 110 orimplemented as a separate component. According to the present exampleembodiment, the supply modulation controller 131 may generate modulationcontrol signals, e.g., a selection control signal M_CS1 and a connectioncontrol signal M_CS2, based on the envelope signal ENB received from themodem 110, and provide the modulation control signals M_CS1 and M_CS2 tothe voltage generator 133 and the switch unit 135. In an exampleembodiment, the supply modulation controller 131 may generate modulationcontrol signals M_CS1 and M_CS2 at each period of selecting a supplyvoltage to be provided to the PA 170, that is, at each supply voltageselect period, based on the envelope signal ENB, and provide the same tothe voltage generator 133 and the switch unit 135. The supply modulationcontroller 131 may set a supply voltage select period based on a size ofa frequency bandwidth of an analog transmission signal TX or an RFsignal RF_(IN) corresponding to the envelope signal ENB. For example,the supply modulation controller 131 may set a shorter supply voltageselect period, as the size of the frequency bandwidth of the RF signalRF_(IN) corresponding to the envelope signal ENB increases. The supplymodulation controller 131 may set a minimum level difference betweenselection supply voltages generated at each supply voltage select periodbased on a frequency bandwidth size of the analog transmission signal TXor the RF signal RF_(IN) corresponding to the envelope signal ENB. Forexample, the supply modulation controller 131 may set a smaller minimumlevel difference between selection supply voltages, as the size of thefrequency bandwidth of the RF signal RF_(IN) corresponding to theenvelope signal ENB increases.

The voltage generator 133 may generate a plurality of voltages havingdifferent levels by using a battery voltage V_(BATT), i.e., a powervoltage or an input supply voltage V_(DD). In response to a selectioncontrol signal M_CS1 received from the supply modulation controller 131,the voltage generator 133 may select at least one of a plurality ofvoltages that may be generated by the voltage generator 133, as aselection supply voltage Vsel, and perform DC-DC conversion on the powervoltage V_(DD) to generate only the selection supply voltage Vsel. Forexample, only a circuit or a block in the voltage generator 133generating the selection supply voltage Vsel may be enabled via theselection control signal M_CS1.

The voltage generator 133 may include a plurality of output terminalsrespectively outputting a plurality of voltages, and the plurality ofoutput terminals may be connected to the switch unit 135. The switchunit 135 may include a plurality of switching devices, and in responseto a connection control signal M_CS2 received from the supply modulationcontroller 131, the switch unit 135 may connect an output terminalthrough which a selection supply voltage Vsel is output, among aplurality of output terminals of the voltage generator 133, to the PA170 via a switching operation. According to an example embodiment, thevoltage generator 133 may include an SIMO converter. According toanother example embodiment, the voltage generator 133 may include aplurality of DC-DC converters respectively generating a plurality ofvoltages.

The RF block 150 may perform up-conversion on the analog transmissionsignal TX to generate an RF signal RF_(IN). The PA 170 may be operatedvia the selection supply voltage Vsel, and amplify power of the RFsignal RF_(IN) to generate an RF output signal RF_(OUT). The RF outputsignal RF_(OUT) may be provided to an antenna.

According to the present example embodiment, the supply modulator 130may select at least one of the plurality of voltages, as a selectionsupply voltage Vsel, and provide the selection supply voltage Vsel tothe PA 170, thereby modulating a voltage level of a supply voltage to beprovided to the PA 170 adaptively with respect to the envelope signalENB. In detail, if the envelope signal ENB has a relatively low level,the supply modulator 130 may supply a relatively low voltage as theselection supply voltage Vsel and provide the same to the PA 170, and ifthe envelope signal ENB has a relatively high level, the supplymodulator 130 may supply a relatively high voltage as the selectionsupply voltage Vsel to the PA 170. Accordingly, the supply modulator 130may enhance efficiency in terms of power consumption, and increase abattery usage period. A technique of adaptively modulating a voltagelevel of a supply voltage based on an envelope signal ENB is referred toas Envelope Tracking (ET).

Furthermore, the supply modulator 130 may perform an Average PowerTracking (APT) operation in which a voltage level of a supply voltage ismodulated based on a highest voltage of an envelope signal ENB duringeach predetermined transmission time interval (TTI) based on theenvelope signal ENB. The supply modulator 130 may selectively perform anAPT operation or an ET operation based on a signal transmission powerset to a communication device including the supply modulator 130.Hereinafter, description will focus on the supply modulator 130performing an ET operation, but an exemplary embodiment is applicable toan APT operation.

The supply modulator 130 may be implemented as a SIMO converter and thusmay reduce a circuit design area of the supply modulator 130. The supplymodulator 130 may generate only a selection supply voltage Vsel, therebyreducing power consumption during a supply modulation operation.

Referring to FIG. 2, the supply modulator 130 may modulate a supplyvoltage Vcc to be provided to a power amplifier, based on an envelopesignal ENB by using DC voltages having different levels. The supplyvoltage V_(CC) provided to the power amplifier may be a bias voltage.

Referring to FIG. 3, if envelope tracking is not applied to thecommunication device 100, but constant power, for example, a batteryvoltage V_(BATT), is provided to the PA 170, a voltage differencebetween an RF output signal RF_(OUT) and the constant power may berelatively great. The voltage difference may decrease the batterylifespan and turn as energy loss which may increase heat generated inthe communication device 100.

The communication device 100 according to the present example embodimentmay use the ET technique or the APT technique to provide a variablesupply voltage V_(cc) to the power amplifier. Accordingly, by reducing avoltage difference between the RF output signal RF_(OUT) and thevariable supply voltage V_(CC), energy waste may be minimized and thebattery lifespan may be increased.

Referring to FIG. 4, the supply modulator 200 a may correspond to thesupply modulator 130 and may include a supply modulation controller 210a, a SIMO converter 230 a, and a switch unit 250 a. The supplymodulation controller 210 a may receive an envelope signal ENB from theoutside, generate a selection control signal M_CS1 based on the envelopesignal ENB and provide the same to the SIMO converter 230 a, andgenerate a connection control signal M_CS2 and provide the same to theswitch unit 250 a. The supply modulation controller 210 a may generate aselection control signal M_CS1 and a connection control signal M_CS2 ateach supply voltage select period.

The SIMO converter 230 a may include a plurality of voltage generationcircuits that may generate a plurality of voltages V₁ through V_(N)having predetermined uniform DC levels that are different from oneanother. In response to the selection control signal M_CS1, the SIMOconverter 230 a may select at least one of the plurality of voltages V₁through V_(N) as a selection supply voltage to generate the selectionsupply voltage. According to an example embodiment, among the pluralityof voltage generation circuits of the SIMO converter 230 a, only avoltage generation circuit that generates a selection supply voltage inresponse to the selection control signal M_CS1 may be enabled, and theother voltage generation circuits may be disabled. However, this isexemplary, and among the plurality of voltage generation circuits of theSIMO converter 230 a, a voltage generation circuit that generates aselection supply voltage in response to the selection control signalM_CS1 and a voltage generation circuit that is set to generate a nextselection supply voltage may be enabled to thereby secure a time neededfor modulating a supply voltage V_(DD). For example, after a firstvoltage V₁ is supplied to a PA 170 as a selection supply voltage Vsel,when a second voltage V₂ is set to be supplied immediately thereafter tothe PA 170 as another selection supply voltage Vsel, a first voltagegeneration circuit generating the first voltage V₁ in response to theselection control signal M_CS1 and a second voltage generation circuitgenerating the second voltage V₂ may be enabled, and the other voltagegeneration circuits may be disabled.

The switch unit 250 a may include a plurality of switching devicesSW_(1a) and SW_(2a) through SW_(Na), e.g., switches. The switchingdevices SW_(1a) through SW_(Na) of the switch unit 250 a may berespectively connected to output terminals 260 of the SIMO converter 230a outputting a plurality of voltages V₁ through V_(N) on a one-to-onebasis. The switch unit 250 a may, in response to the connection controlsignal M_CS2, connect an output terminal of the SIMO converter 230 aoutputting a selection supply voltage Vsel and the PA 170 to each other.

Referring to FIG. 5, the supply modulator 200 b may correspond to thesupply modulator 130 and may include a supply modulation controller 210b, a plurality of DC-DC converters 230 b generating voltages ofdifferent levels, and a switch unit 250 b. Hereinafter, description willfocus on an operation of the supply modulator 200 b that differs fromthat of FIG. 4. In response to a selection control signal M_CS1, theplurality of DC-DC converters 1 through N may select at least one of aplurality of voltages V₁ through V_(N) as a selection supply voltage togenerate the selection supply voltage. According to an exampleembodiment, only those DC-DC converters that generate a selection supplyvoltage in response to a selection control signal M_CS1 may be enabledamong the plurality of DC-DC converters 230 b, and the other DC-DCconverters may be disabled. For example, when an Nth voltage V_(N) isselected as a selection supply voltage Vsel, the DC-DC converters 1through N-1 may be disabled, and the DC-DC converter N may be enabledvia the selection control signal M_CS1. In an example embodiment, eachof the DC-DC converters 1 through N may be connected to a power voltageV_(DD) via a switch device 262 including switches, and a switch betweenan enabled DC-DC converter and the power voltage V_(DD) may be turnedon, and a switch between a disabled DC-DC converter and the powervoltage V_(DD) may be turned off.

In another example embodiment, a DC-DC converter generating a selectionsupply voltage in response to a selection control signal M_CS1 and atleast one other DC-DC converter that is set to generate a next selectionsupply voltage may be enabled.

The switch unit 250 b may include a plurality of switch devices SW_(1b)and SW_(2b) through SW_(Nb), and each of the switch devices SW_(1b)through SW_(Nb) may be connected to the DC-DC converters 230 b on aone-to-one basis. In response to a connection control signal M_CS2, theswitch unit 250 b may connect a DC-DC converter outputting a selectionsupply voltage Vsel to a PA 170. Hereinafter, description will focus ona supply modulator including a SIMO converter.

Referring to FIG. 6, the SIMO converter 300 included in a supplymodulator may include a SIMO controller 310, a plurality of comparators330 a and 330 b through 330 n, a plurality of voltage generationcircuits 350 a through 350 n, an inductor L, and switch devices SW_(1c),SW_(2c),, and SW_(3c). The SIMO converter 300 may generate a pluralityof voltages of different levels, and output the voltages throughrespective output terminals 351 a through 351 n of the voltagegeneration circuits 350 a through 350 n.

The voltage generation circuits 350 a through 350 n may respectivelyinclude switch devices SW_(1b) through SW_(Nb), capacitors C₁ throughC_(N), loads I_(LOAD1) through I_(LOADN), and output terminals 351 a and351 b through 351 n. In an example embodiment, the voltage generationcircuits 350 a through 350 n may respectively include capacitors havingdifferent capacitances and different loads. The comparators 330 athrough 330 n may respectively receive reference voltages V_(REF1) andV_(REF2) through V_(REFN) and a feedback signal from the outputterminals 351 a through 351 n of the voltage generation circuits 350 athrough 350 n to generate a control signal and provide the controlsignal the SIMO controller 310. The SIMO controller 310 may control, byusing control signals received from the plurality of comparators 330 athrough 330 n, the switch devices SW_(1c), SW_(2c), and SW_(3c),connected to an end of the inductor L and the switch devices SW_(1b)through SW_(Nb) of the voltage generation circuits 350 a through 350 n,to thereby generate voltages V₁ through V_(N) of different levels.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 6, according to an example embodiment, a supplymodulation controller 210 a may generate a selection control signalM_CS1 based on an envelope signal and provide the same to the SIMOconverter 300. In response to the selection control signal M_CS1, theSIMO controller 310 may select one of the plurality of voltages V₁through V_(N) as a selection supply voltage. For example, the SIMOcontroller 310 may select a first voltage V₁ as a selection supplyvoltage in response to the selection control signal M_CS1. When assumingthat the first voltage V₁ is generated from the first voltage generationcircuit 350 a, the SIMO controller 310 may enable the first voltagegeneration circuit 350 a to turn on or off the switching device SW_(1b)of the first voltage generation circuit 350 a so that the first voltagegeneration circuit 350 a generates the first voltage V₁. The SIMOcontroller 310 may keep the switch devices SW_(2b) through SW_(Nb) ofthe other voltage generation circuits 350 b through 350 n to be in anoff state so that the voltage generation circuits 350 b through 350 nare disabled. The switch unit 250 a may connect, in response to aconnection control signal M_CS2, an output terminal 351 a of the firstvoltage generation circuit 350 a and a PA 170 and provide the firstvoltage V₁ to the PA 170 as a selection supply voltage Vsel.

As described above, as only one inductor L is needed to generate aplurality of voltages by using a supply modulator including the SIMOconverter 300, a circuit design area for the supply modulator may bereduced, and power consumption during a supply modulation operation maybe reduced by controlling the SIMO converter 300 such that only aselection supply voltage is generated using the SIMO converter 300.

FIGS. 7A through 7C are graphs illustrating a supply modulationoperation of the supply modulator by referring as an example to thesupply modulator 200 a of FIG. 4 for the convenience of the description.Hereinafter, the SIMO converter 230 a of FIG. 4 will be assumed to beable to generate voltages having seven different levels (it is assumedthat N=7).

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 7A, in a section 0-t1, the supply modulator 200a may provide a first voltage V₁ to the PA 170 as a selection supplyvoltage Vsel. In a section t1-t2, the supply modulator 200 a may providea second voltage V₂ to the PA 170 as a selection supply voltage Vsel. Ina section t2-t3, the supply modulator 200 a may provide a fifth voltageV₅ to the PA 170 as a selection supply voltage Vsel. In a section t3-t4,the supply modulator 200 a may provide a seventh voltage V₇ to the PA170 as a selection supply voltage Vsel. In a section t4-t5, the supplymodulator 200 a may provide a sixth voltage V₆ to the PA 170 as aselection supply voltage Vsel. In a section t5-t6, the supply modulator200 a may provide a third voltage V₃ to the PA 170 as a selection supplyvoltage Vsel. Each section may have the same length, and each of thefirst through seventh voltages V₁ through V₇ may differ by apredetermined unit level.

The supply modulation controller 210 a may set a supply voltage selectperiod SP and a minimum level gap MLG between selection supply voltagesVsel based on an envelope signal ENB corresponding to an RF signalRF_(IN) . For example, the supply modulation controller 210 a may set ashorter supply voltage select period SP and a smaller minimum level gapMLG as a frequency bandwidth of the RF signal RF_(IN) increases tothereby control a more delicate envelope tracking operation. Informationregarding the frequency bandwidth of the RF signal RF_(IN) may beincluded in the envelope signal ENB. However, the information, based onwhich the supply modulation controller 210 a sets the supply voltageselect period SP and the minimum level gap MLG, is not limited to afrequency bandwidth of the RF signal RF_(IN) , and various informationsuch as a data amount to be transmitted through the RF signal RF_(IN)may also be used.

The supply modulation controller 210 a may set a supply voltage selectperiod SP corresponding to a length of a section in which a selectionsupply voltage Vsel is supplied to the PA 170. The supply modulationcontroller 210 a may generate a selection control signal M_CS1 based onan envelope signal ENB for each supply voltage select period SP andprovide the selection control signal M_CS1 to the SIMO converter 230 a,and generate a connection control signal M_CS2 based on the envelopesignal ENB for each supply voltage select period SP and provide the sameto the switch unit 250 a. The supply modulation controller 210 a may seta minimum level gap MLG between selection supply voltages Vsel generatedin each supply voltage select period SP. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 7A, the supply modulation controller 210 a may set a minimum levelgap MLG corresponding to one unit level.

Referring to FIG. 7B, the supply modulation controller 210 a may set aminimum level gap MLG′ between selection supply voltages Vsel, whichcorresponds to two unit levels, based on a frequency bandwidth of a RFsignal RF_(IN).

Referring to FIG. 7C, the supply modulation controller 210 a may set alonger supply voltage select period SP', based on a frequency bandwidthof the RF signal RF_(IN) . For example, the supply modulation controller210 a may set a supply voltage select period SP′ corresponding to alength of the section 0-t2.

As described above, by setting various minimum level gaps betweenselection supply voltages and various supply voltage select periods, thesupply modulation controller 210 a may control an envelope trackingoperation of a supply modulator in various manners.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a supply modulator 400 forproviding a selection supply voltage to a plurality of power amplifiers,according to an example embodiment. Referring to FIG. 8, the supplymodulator 400 may include a supply modulation controller 410, a SIMOconverter 430, a first switch unit 450 a and a second switch unit 450 b.The supply modulation controller 410 may receive a first envelope signalENB1 from the outside, and generate a first selection control signalM_CS1 a based on the first envelope signal ENB1 and provide the same tothe SIMO converter 430, and generate a first connection control signalM_CS2 a and provide the same to the first switch unit 450 a.Accordingly, in response to the first selection control signal M_CS1 a,the SIMO converter 430 may select at least one of a plurality ofvoltages V₁ through V_(N) as a first selection supply voltage V_(sel1),and the first switch unit 450 a may perform a switching operation so asto supply the first selection supply voltage V_(sel1) to a first poweramplifier PA#1 as a supply voltage V_(CC1) based on the first connectioncontrol signal M_CS2 a. The supply modulation controller 410 may receivea second envelope signal ENB2 from the outside, and generate a secondselection control signal M_CS1 b based on the second envelope signalENB2 and provide the same to the SIMO converter 430, and generate asecond connection control signal M_CS2 b and provide the same to thesecond switch unit 450 b. Accordingly, in response to the secondselection control signal M_CS1 b, the SIMO converter 430 may select atleast one of the plurality of voltages V₁ through V_(N) as a secondselection supply voltage V_(sel2), and the second switch unit 450 b mayperform a switching operation so as to supply the second selectionsupply voltage V_(sel2) to a second power amplifier PA#2 as a supplyvoltage V_(CC2) based on the second connection control signal M_CS2 b.

According to an example embodiment, the first power amplifier PA#1 mayamplify a first RF signal RF_(IN1) to a first RF output signal RF_(OUT1)based on the supply voltage V_(CC1) received from the supply modulator400. The second power amplifier PA#2 may amplify a second RF signalRF_(IN2) to a second RF output signal RF_(OUT2) based on the supplyvoltage V_(CC2) received from the supply modulator 400. Thecommunication device according to an exemplary embodiment may includethe first power amplifier PA#1 and the second power amplifier PA#2, andthe communication device may perform a carrier aggregation (CA)operation by using the first power amplifier PA#1 and the second poweramplifier PA#2.

Here, a frequency bandwidth of the first RF signal RF_(IN1) received bythe first power amplifier PA#1 and a frequency bandwidth of the secondRF signal RF_(IN2) received by the second power amplifier PA#2 may beidentical or different according to operating conditions of carrieraggregation. According to an example embodiment, when a frequencybandwidth of the first RF signal RF_(IN1) and a frequency bandwidth ofthe second RF signal RF_(IN2) are different, the supply modulationcontroller 410 may control an envelope tracking operation on the firstpower amplifier PA#1 of the supply modulator 400 and an envelopetracking operation on the second power amplifier PA#2 of the supplymodulator 400 differently. For example, when a frequency bandwidth ofthe first RF signal RF_(IN1) is greater than a frequency bandwidth ofthe second RF signal RF_(IN2), the supply modulation controller 410 mayset a minimum level gap MLG between first selection voltage levelsV_(sel1) provided to the first power amplifier PA#1 to be smaller than aminimum level gap MLG between second selection voltage levels V_(sel2)provided to the second power amplifier PA#2. The supply modulationcontroller 410 may set a supply voltage select period based on a signalhaving a greater frequency bandwidth among the first RF signal RF_(IN1)and the second RF signal RF_(IN2). The supply modulation controller 410may generate first and second selection control signals M_CS1 a andM_CS1 b and first and second connection control signals M_CS2 a andM_CS2 b for each supply voltage select period, and provide the same toeach of the SIMO converter 430 and the first and second switch units 450a and 450 b.

FIG. 9 is a graph illustrating an operation of a supply modulationoperation of the supply modulator 400 of FIG. 8 according to an exampleembodiment. Hereinafter, the SIMO converter 430 of FIG. 8 will beassumed to be able to generate voltages having seven different levels(it is assumed that N=7).

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, in a section 0-t1, the supply modulator 400may provide a first voltage V₁ to the first power amplifier PA#1 as afirst selection supply voltage V_(sel1), and a fourth voltage V₁ to thesecond power amplifier PA#2 as a second selection supply voltageV_(sel2). In a section t1-t2, the supply modulator 400 may provide asecond voltage V₂ to the first power amplifier PA#1 as a selectionsupply voltage V_(sel1), and a fifth voltage V₅ to the second poweramplifier PA#2 as a second selection supply voltage V_(sel2). In asection t2-t3, the supply modulator 400 may provide a fifth voltage V₅as a first selection supply voltage V_(sel1) to the first poweramplifier PA#1 as a first selection supply voltage V_(sel1), and a thirdvoltage V₃ to the second power amplifier PA#2 as a second selectionsupply voltage V_(sel2). In a section t3-t4, the supply modulator 400may provide a seventh voltage V₇ to the first power amplifier PA#1 as aselection supply voltage V_(sel1) and a first voltage V₁ to the secondpower amplifier PA#2 as a second selection supply voltage V_(sel2). In asection t4-t5, the supply modulator 400 may provide a sixth voltage V₆to the first power amplifier PA#1 as a first selection supply voltageV_(sel1) and a second voltage V₂ to the second power amplifier PA#2 as asecond selection supply voltage V_(sel2). In a section t5-t6, the supplymodulator 400 may provide a third voltage V₃ to the first poweramplifier PA#1 as a first selection supply voltage V_(sel1) and a fourthvoltage V₄ to the second power amplifier PA#2 as a second selectionsupply voltage V_(sel2). Each section may have the same length, and eachof the first through seventh voltages V₁ through V₇ may differ by apredetermined unit level.

According to an example embodiment, among the plurality of voltagegeneration circuits of the supply modulator 400, only the voltagegeneration circuits generating a first selection supply voltage V_(sel1)and a second selection supply voltage V_(sel2) may be enabled inresponse to the first and second selection control signals M_CS1 a andM_CS1 b, and the other voltage generation circuits may be disabled. Forexample, a voltage generation circuit generating the first voltage V₁and a voltage generation circuit generating the fourth voltage V₄ in thesection t0-t1 may be enabled in response to the first and secondselection control signals M_CS1 a and M_CS1 b, and the other voltagegeneration circuits may be disabled.

That is, the supply modulation controller 410 may control the pluralityof voltage generation circuits of the supply modulator 400 such thatonly those voltage generation circuits generating a selection supplyvoltage to be provided to a plurality of power amplifiers are enabled.Accordingly, power consumption during an envelope tracking operation ofthe supply modulator 400 may be reduced.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a supply modulator 500 providinga selection voltage to a plurality of power amplifiers. Referring toFIG. 10, the supply modulator 500 may include a voltage generator 510and a switch unit 520. The voltage generator 510 may include a SIMOconverter or a plurality of DC-DC converters, as described above. Thevoltage generator 510 may select, based on one or more modulationcontrol signals M_CS received from the outside, at least one of aplurality of voltages having different levels, generate only a selectionsupply voltage and apply an N-level ET technique or APT technique toprovide a variable supply voltage to a plurality of power amplifiersPA#1 through PA#M.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a supply modulator 600 includinga SIMO converter 630 supporting a DVS function.

Referring to FIG. 11, the supply modulator 600 may include a supplymodulation controller 610, the SIMO converter 630 supporting a DVSfunction, and a switch unit 650. Compared with the SIMO converter 230 aof FIG. 4, a plurality of voltage generation circuits of the SIMOconverter 630 may generate voltages of various levels. The supplymodulation controller 610 may generate a voltage modification controlsignal M_CS3 based on an envelope signal ENB and provide the same to theSIMO converter 630. In response to the voltage modification controlsignal M_CS3, a voltage generation circuit of the SIMO converter 630 maymodify a level of a voltage that is generated. Compared with the SIMOconverter 230 a of FIG. 4, the SIMO converter 630 may include fewervoltage generation circuits but generate voltages having various levels.An operation of the supply modulator 600 will be described in moredetail below.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a SIMO converter 700 that supports aDVS function and is included in a supply modulator according to anexample embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 12, the SIMO converter 700 may include a SIMOcontroller 710, first and second comparators 730 a and 730 b, first andsecond voltage generation circuits 750 a and 750 b, an inductor L, andswitch devices SW_(1c), SW_(2c), and SW_(3c). The SIMO converter 700 maygenerate a plurality of voltages of different levels based on a DVSfunction, and output the voltages through output terminals 751 a and 751b of the first and second voltage generation circuits 750 a and 750 b.

A supply modulation controller 610 may generate a voltage modificationcontrol signal M_CS3 based on an envelope signal, and may modify atleast one among a first reference voltage V′_(REF1) input to the firstcomparator 730 a and a second reference voltage V′_(REF2) input to thesecond comparator 730 b by using the voltage modification control signalM_CS3. For example, the supply modulation controller 610 may modify afirst level of the first reference voltage V′_(REF1) to a second levelby using the voltage modification control signal M_CS3, and accordingly,the first voltage generation circuit 750 a may generate a voltage of adifferent level from a previous one. For convenience of description, thesupply modulation controller 610 is illustrated as modifying the firstand second reference voltages V′_(REF1) and V′_(REF2), but the first andsecond reference voltages V′_(REF1) and V′_(REF2) may also be modifiedvia the SIMO controller 710. In addition, supporting a DVS function bymodifying voltages generated by the voltage generation circuits 750 aand 750 b by modifying the first and second reference voltages V′_(REF1)and V′_(REF2) is merely an example embodiment and is not limitedthereto, and voltages generated by the voltage generation circuits 750 aand 750 b may be modified using various methods. Hereinafter, anoperation of the supply modulator 700 will be described in detail.

In FIG. 13, a voltage 751 a output from the first voltage generationcircuit 750 a and a voltage 751 b output from the second voltagegeneration circuit 750 b are illustrated, and a supply voltage Vccprovided to a power amplifier through a switch unit is illustrated.

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, the SIMO controller 710 may select thefirst voltage generation circuit 750 a as a first selection supplyvoltage circuit and select the second voltage generation circuit 750 bas a second selection supply voltage circuit at a first supply voltagetiming TM1 based on a selection control signal M_CS1 received from thesupply modulation controller 610. The first voltage generation circuit750 a and the second voltage generation circuit 750 b may be enabled.Here, a first selection supply voltage circuit may be a circuit thatimmediately generates a selection supply voltage at a predeterminedsupply voltage timing and provides the same to a power amplifier, and asecond selection supply voltage circuit may be a circuit that is set togenerate a selection supply voltage at a next supply voltage timing andprovide the same to a power amplifier.

That is, the supply modulation controller 610 may control the first andsecond voltage generation circuits such that the first voltagegeneration circuit 750 a generates a first voltage V₁ in a section 0-t1,and may modify a level of the second reference voltage V′_(REF2) relatedto the second voltage generation circuit 750 b so that the secondvoltage generation circuit 750 b generates a second voltage V₂. Thesupply modulation controller 610 may control the switch unit in thesection 0-t1 so as to connect the first voltage generation circuit 750 aand the power amplifier to each other to thereby provide the firstvoltage V₁ to the power amplifier, and may disconnect the second voltagegeneration circuit 750 b from the power amplifier so that the secondvoltage V₂ is not provided to the power amplifier. As described above,the supply modulation controller 610 may control the second voltagegeneration circuit 750 b in advance such that a level of a voltagegenerated by the second voltage generation circuit 750 b is modified.

The SIMO controller 710 may select the second voltage generation circuit750 b as a first selection supply voltage circuit and the first voltagegeneration circuit 750 a as a second selection supply voltage circuit ata second supply voltage selection timing TM2 based on the selectioncontrol signal M_CS1. That is, in a section t1-t2, the supply modulationcontroller 610 may control the first voltage generation circuit 750 aand the second voltage generation circuit 750 b such that the secondvoltage generation circuit 750 b maintains the second voltage V₂, andmodify a level of the first reference voltage V′_(REF1) related to thefirst voltage generation circuit 750 a so that the first voltagegeneration circuit 750 a generates a fourth voltage V₄. The supplymodulation controller 610 may control the switch unit in the sectiont1-t2 so as to connect the second voltage generation circuit 750 b andthe power amplifier to thereby provide the second voltage V₂ to thepower amplifier, and may disconnect the first voltage generation circuit750 a from the power amplifier so as not to provide the fourth voltageV₄ to the power amplifier.

The SIMO converter 700 may operate in each of the sections t2-t3, t3-t4,t4-t5, and t5-t6 in the above-described manner, and the SIMO converter700 may perform an envelope tracking operation as illustrated in FIG. 7Aonly by using the first and second voltage generation circuits 750 a and750 b.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a supply modulator 800 that provides aselection supply voltage to each of a plurality of power amplifiers andsupports a DVS function, according to an example embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 14, the supply modulator 800 may include a supplymodulation controller 810, a SIMO converter 830 supporting a DVSfunction, a first switch unit 850 a and a second switch unit 850 b. TheSIMO converter 830 may also include four voltage generation circuits andrespective first through fourth output terminals OT1 through OT4 of thevoltage generation circuits. A supply voltage V_(CC1) may be supplied tothe first power amplifier PA#1 through the first and second outputterminals OT1 and OT2, and a supply voltage V_(CC2) may be supplied tothe second power amplifier PA#2 through the third and fourth outputterminals OT3 and OT4.

The supply modulation controller 810 may receive a first envelope signalENB1 from the outside, and generate a first selection control signalM_CS1 a and a first voltage modification control signal M_CS3 a based onthe first envelope signal ENB1 and provide the first selection controlsignal M_CS1 a and the first voltage modification control signal M_CS3 ato the SIMO converter 830, and generate a first connection controlsignal M_CS2 a and provide the same to the first switch unit 850 a.Accordingly, in response to the first selection control signal M_CS1 aand the first voltage modification control signal M_CS3 a, the SIMOconverter 830 may generate at least one of a plurality voltages as afirst selection supply voltage V_(sel1), and the first switch unit 450 amay perform, based on the first connection control signal M_CS2 a, aswitching operation so as to provide the first selection supply voltageV_(sel1) to the first power amplifier PA#1 as the supply voltageV_(CC1). The supply modulation controller 810 may receive a secondenvelope signal ENB2 from the outside, and generate a second selectioncontrol signal M_CS1 b and a second voltage modification control signalM_CS3 b based on the second envelope signal ENB2 and provide the secondselection control signal M_CS1 b and the second voltage modificationcontrol signal M_CS3 b to the SIMO converter 830, and generate a secondconnection control signal M_CS2 b and provide the same to the secondswitch unit 850 b. Accordingly, in response to the second selectioncontrol signal M_CS1 b and the second voltage modification controlsignal M_CS3 b, the SIMO converter 830 may generate at least one of aplurality voltages as a second selection supply voltage V_(sel2), andthe second switch unit 450 b may perform, based on the second connectioncontrol signal M_CS2 b, a switching operation to provide the secondselection supply voltage V_(sel2) to the second power amplifier PA#2 asthe supply voltage V_(CC2).

FIG. 15 is a graph illustrating a supply modulation operation of thesupply modulator 800 of FIG. 14, according to an example embodiment.

In FIG. 15, a voltage that is output through the output terminal OT1 ofthe first voltage generation circuit will be denoted as OT1 and avoltage output through the output terminal OT2 of the second voltagegeneration circuit will be denoted as OT2, and a supply voltage V_(CC1)output through the first switch unit 850 a is illustrated. A voltageoutput through the output terminal OT3 of the third voltage generationcircuit will be denoted as OT3 and a voltage output through the outputterminal OT4 of the fourth voltage generation circuit will be denoted asOT4, and a supply voltage V_(CC2) output through the second switch unit850 b is illustrated.

As illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, the supply modulator 800 mayindividually and respectively provide the supply voltages V_(CC1) andV_(CC2) to the first power amplifier PA#1 and the second power amplifierPA#2 via a DVS function. A detailed operation of the supply modulator800 is described above with reference to FIG. 13, and thus descriptionthereof will be omitted here.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a SIMO converter 900 included into asupply modulator that provides a selection supply voltage to a pluralityof power amplifiers and supports a DVS function.

Referring to FIG. 16, the SIMO converter 900 may include a voltagegenerator 910 and a switch unit 720. As described above, the voltagegenerator 910 may include a SIMO converter supporting a DVS function ora plurality of DC-DC converters supporting a DVS function. The voltagegenerator 910 may select, based on a modulation control signal M_CSreceived from the outside, at least one of a plurality of voltageshaving different levels as a selection supply voltage, and generate onlythe selection supply voltage and apply N-level ET technique or APTtechnique to provide a variable supply voltage to a plurality of poweramplifiers PA#1 through PA#M.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an IoT device 1000 according toan example embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 17, the supply modulators according to the exampleembodiments may be included in the IoT device 1000. IoT may refer to anetwork between objects communicating with each other via wired orwireless communication. An IoT device may have an accessible wired orwireless interface, and may include devices that transmit and/or receivedata by communicating with at least one other device through the wiredor wireless interface. Examples of the accessible interface may includemodem communication interfaces that are accessible to a Local AreaNetwork (LAN), a Wireless LAN (WLAN) such as Wi-Fi, a Wireless PersonalArea Network (WPAN) such as Bluetooth, a Wireless Universal Serial Bus(USB), ZigBee, Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio-frequencyidentification (RFID), Power Line communication (PLC), or a mobilecellular network such as 3G, 4G, or LTE. The Bluetooth interface maysupport Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).

The IoT device 1000 may include a communication interface to communicatewith the outside. The communication interface 1200 may be, for example,a wireless short range communication interface such as a wired LAN,Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or ZigBee, or a modem communication interface thatallows access to a mobile communication network such as PLC, 3G or LTE.The communication interface 1200 may include a transceiver and/or areceiver. The IoT device 1000 may transmit and/or receive informationfrom an access point or a gateway through the transceiver and/or thereceiver. The IoT device 1000 may communicate with a user device orother IoT devices to transmit and/or receive control information or dataof the IoT device 1000.

In the present example embodiment, the transceiver included in thecommunication interface 1200 may include a supply modulator, and thesupply modulator may be implemented based on the description providedabove with reference to FIGS. 1 through 16.

The IoT device 1000 may further include a computing processor or anapplication processor (AP) 1100. The IoT device 1000 may further includea battery for internal power supply or a power supply unit receivingpower from the outside. The IoT device 1000 may include a display 1400displaying an internal status or data. The user may control the IoTdevice 1000 via a user interface (UI) of the display 1400. The IoTdevice 1000 may transmit an internal status and/or data through thetransceiver, and receive a control command and/or data from the outsidethrough the receiver.

The memory 1300 may store a control command code, control data or userdata that controls the IoT device 1000. The memory 1300 may include atleast one of a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory. Thenonvolatile memory may include at least one of various memories such asread only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), ElectricallyProgrammable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM(EEPROM), a flash memory, Phase-change RAM (PRAM), Magnetic RAM (MRAM),Resistive RAM (ReRAM), and Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM). The volatile memorymay include at least one of various memories such as Dynamic RAM (DRAM),Static RAM (SRAM), and Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM).

The IoT device 1000 may further include a storage device. Examples ofthe storage device may be nonvolatile media such as a hard disk drive(HDD), a solid state disk (SSD), an embedded multimedia card (eMMC), anda Universal Flash Storage (UFS). The storage device may store userinformation provided through the input/output (I/O) unit 1500 andsensing information collected using the sensor 1600.

While the inventive concept has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to embodiments thereof, it will be understood thatvarious changes in form and details may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A supply modulator comprising: a voltagegenerating unit comprising a first voltage generation circuit and asecond voltage generation circuit configured to generate voltages ofdifferent levels; and a switch unit controlling connection between thevoltage generating unit and a power amplifier, wherein the first voltagegeneration circuit generates a first voltage of a first level inresponse to a selection control signal corresponding to an envelopesignal, and the switch unit supplies the first voltage to the poweramplifier by connecting the first voltage generation circuit and thepower amplifier during a first section in response to a connectioncontrol signal corresponding to the envelope signal, and the secondvoltage generation circuit generates a second voltage of a second levelin advance in the first section, in response to the selection controlsignal, and the switch unit supplies the second voltage to the poweramplifier by connecting the second voltage generation circuit and thepower amplifier during a second section following the first section inresponse to the connection control signal.
 2. The supply modulator ofclaim 1, wherein the voltage generating unit further comprises a thirdvoltage generation circuit configured to generate a voltage of adifferent level from levels of voltages generated in the first voltagegeneration circuit and the second voltage generation circuit, whereinthe third voltage generation circuit generates a third voltage of athird level in advance in the second section, in response to theselection control signal, and the switch unit supplies the third voltageto the power amplifier by connecting the third voltage generationcircuit and the power amplifier during a third section following thesecond section in response to the connection control signal.
 3. Thesupply modulator of claim 2, wherein the first voltage circuit, thesecond voltage circuit, and the third voltage generation circuit areimplemented as a DC-DC converter.
 4. The supply modulator of claim 1,wherein the first voltage generation circuit and the second voltagegeneration circuit support a dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) function. 5.The supply modulator of claim 4, wherein the selection control signalfurther comprises a voltage modification control signal, wherein thefirst voltage generation circuit and the second voltage generationcircuit respectively generate the first voltage and the second voltagebased on the voltage modification control signal.
 6. The supplymodulator of claim 1, further comprising a supply modulation controllergenerating the selection control signal and the connection controlsignal based on the envelope signal, wherein the supply modulationcontroller sets lengths of the first section and the second sectionbased on information regarding a frequency bandwidth of aradio-frequency (RF) signal included in the envelope signal.
 7. Thesupply modulator of claim 1, further comprising a single inductormultiple output converter comprising the first voltage generationcircuit and the second voltage generation circuit.
 8. A communicationdevice comprising: a modem configured to generate a transmission signaland an envelope signal corresponding to the transmission signal; a radiofrequency (RF) block configured to receive the transmission signal togenerate an RF signal; a supply modulator comprising a plurality ofvoltage generation circuits respectively generating voltages havingdifferent levels, the supply modulator being configured to select one ofthe plurality of voltage generation circuits based on the envelopesignal to generate a first supply voltage; and a power amplifierconfigured to generate an RF output signal by amplifying the RF signalby using the first supply voltage during a first section, wherein thesupply modulator selects other voltage generation circuit from among theplurality of voltage generation circuits based on the envelope signal togenerate a second supply voltage in advance in the first section.
 9. Thecommunication device of claim 8, wherein the power amplifier generatesthe RF output signal by amplifying the RF signal by using the secondsupply voltage during a second section following the first section. 10.The communication device of claim 8, wherein the supply modulator sets aselection period with respect to the plurality of voltage generationcircuits based on frequency bandwidth information of the RF signal. 11.The communication device of claim 8, wherein the supply modulator sets aminimum level interval between the first supply voltage and the secondsupply voltage based on frequency bandwidth information of the RFsignal.
 12. The communication device of claim 8, wherein the supplymodulator further comprises a switch unit configured to selectivelyconnect one of the plurality of voltage generation circuits to the poweramplifier based on the envelope signal.
 13. The communication device ofclaim 8, wherein the supply modulator selects one of an average powertracking technique and an envelope tracking technique performed usingthe envelope signal and modulates a level of a supply voltage providedto the power amplifier based on the one of the average power trackingtechnique and the envelope tracking technique that was selected.
 14. Thecommunication device of claim 8, further comprising at least one otherpower amplifier, wherein the communication device selects at least twofrom among the plurality of voltage generation circuits to provide asupply voltage to the at least one other power amplifier in parallelwith an operation of providing a supply voltage to the power amplifier.15. An operating method of a supply modulator for modulating a level ofa voltage provided to a power amplifier, the operating methodcomprising: generating a first voltage of a first level via a firstvoltage generation circuit in response to a selection control signalcorresponding to an envelope signal; providing the first voltage to thepower amplifier during a first section in response to a connectioncontrol signal corresponding to the envelope signal; generating inadvance a second voltage of a second level within the first section viaa second voltage generation circuit, in response to the selectioncontrol signal; and providing the second voltage during a second sectionfollowing the first section, to the power amplifier, in response to theconnection control signal.
 16. The operating method of claim 15, furthercomprising: providing the second voltage that is generated in advance inthe second section in response to the connection control signal, to thepower amplifier; and generating in advance a third voltage of a thirdlevel in the second section in response to the selection control signal.17. The operating method of claim 15, wherein the supply modulatorcomprises at least two voltage generation circuits configured to supporta dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) function, wherein the supply modulatoralternately selects each of the at least two voltage generation circuitsbased on the connection control signal and connects the alternatelyselected voltage generation circuits to the power amplifier to providethe supply voltage.
 18. The operating method of claim 17, wherein thesupply modulator modifies a level of a voltage generated in a voltagegeneration circuit that is not connected to the power amplifier fromamong the at least two voltage generation circuits, based on a voltagemodification control signal included in the selection control signal.19. The operating method of claim 15, wherein the supply modulatorcomprises a plurality of voltage generation circuits configured togenerate voltages respectively having different levels, wherein thesupply modulator selects two voltage generation circuits of theplurality of voltage generation circuits based on the selection controlsignal and controls the two voltage generation circuits to generate thefirst voltage and the second voltage, respectively.
 20. The operatingmethod of claim 15, wherein the supply modulator supports one of anaverage power tracking technique and an envelope tracking technique.